Some Great Advice!

"A Penny Saved is A Penny Earned"
Thank you Mr. Franklin for that very insightful, and all too often ignored, advice.
In real estate investing this 'Penny' can easily turn into several hundred or thousands of dollars. If you're one of those people who'll risk their life to do a u-turn in rush hour traffic and sit in line at the gas station 15 minutes just to save $ 0.02 on a gallon of gas when your tank only holds 16 gallons (a whole $0.32 savings. if you're on 'E') THEN listen up because you will do a whole lot of U-turnin' and sittin' for the money I'm going to be saving you on your next closing!
Whether you're a 'buy and hold' landlord, a wholesaler, or a rehabber, you have to buy and sell a property at some point. Even if you never actually take title, as in an assignment or subject-to, you still have to watch the numbers carefully to maximize your profits on every deal. Below is a list of places that you can save (or lose) money on every deal.
SURVEY - closing costs can be a killer when they add them up; always check to see if the previous owner has a previous survey that you can use
TITLE COMMITMENT - along with a survey, the previous owner may have a title commitment that you can get partial credit for and reduce your closing costs
HAVE THE BUYER/SELLER PAY THE TITLE INSURANCE - a negotiation point that is often overlooked. In Florida it is customary for the seller to pay for title insurance, but that doesn't mean that you have to even if you're the seller. Always write in your contracts that the buyer pay for it when you're selling.
'NET' SALE - mostly used in wholesale deals, but anyone can use this. When you're selling just offer the property, for example, $105k NET, making the buyer responsible for all of the closing costs.
TERMITE INSPECTION - don't pay for them. I use a guy that will inspect for free and if there are active termites I give him the work. I don't necessarily pay for it, I just give his estimate for treatment to whoever is responsible.
HOME INSPECTION - this will cost you money upfront but will save you money in the long run. When buying this goes without saying, and when selling you can show your prospective buyers a clean report or correct the issues before they come up. It's always cheaper to get the work done with a handyman than having a licensed contractor do the work, which most real estate agents will require.
PRE-HAB - once again this is an investment. Especially for wholesale deals that just look 'ugly' a few hundred dollars in cleanup and fixing the 'ugly' will open up your property to many more buyers who wouldn't otherwise be interested and net you more money in the end.
LOSS MITIGATION FEE - if you are negotiating a short sale always ask for a negotiation fee or marketing fee to get additional money from the transaction. This doesn't mean they'll accept, but if you don't ask you could be leaving money on the table.
CURB APPEAL - every buyer sees the front of the house first and their opinion of it will be based on their first impression. Plant some flowers, paint the house (if only the front side) and make sure your property looks as good, or better, from the outside as it does inside and you'll be sure you'll get the most you can for any property.
STAGING - this is another simple selling investment that makes a bigger difference in the buyers eye than you can imagine. Staging hides imperfections and flaws by drawing your buyers attention away from them. You can do something as simple as buying $100 worth of towels, candles and accessories from discount chain stores, or go all the way by hiring someone to paint and stage with furniture. Either way you'll be getting a good return on your investment.
Utilize as many of these strategies as you can on every deal to maximize your profits. Remember that every dollar you save or "create" can go straight to your next vacation or new car and you won't ever leave money on the table again!
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